3 Ways to be a Better Boss

This article from The Muse, is practical and makes sense if you’re a busy manager. It takes less than 2 minutes to read, but if you don’t have that much time, here are my takeaways and added advice:

#1 - Put One-on-Ones on the Calendar - I love the idea of doing a recurring calendar invitation for 30 minute one-on-one sessions with team members; and don’t change or cancel them! My added advice: If you don’t have anything pressing to talk about, rather than cancel the session, spend 10 minutes just chatting. By building relationships with your team members, you will build trust.

#2 - Stop Using Band-Aids - If a team member makes a mistake, don’t give the task to someone else. Do some coaching or more training. More advice: When they perform a task well, praise the behavior you want to see. Tell them specifically what they did well; say “I really appreciate you getting me that report on time. I know you worked hard on that!” versus just “Great job.”

#3 - Help Your Employees Trust You - It is tough balancing the demands and “push down” from management while listening to employees’ requests, concerns and new ideas that should be “sold up” to management. Follow-through, prioritize and above all, be honest. My added thoughts: Get some training for “selling up” to management. Never lie to your employees to throw management “under the bus.” Take responsibility and be the communicator between the important stakeholders.